I 


No.  4. 


Roman’s  Ifnimt 


WHAT  IS  A ZENANA? 

THE  meaning  of  the  word  is  literally,  “The  place  for 
women,”  from  the  Persian  word  Zen  (a  woman)  and  An  (a 
place).  “It  is  a collection  of  dirty  court-yards,  dark 
corners,  break-neck  staircases,  filthy  out  houses,  and  entries, 
overlaid  by  rubbish,  or  occupied  by  half-clad  native  servants, 
stretched  about  on  charpoys  or  on  the  ground,  indifferently 
built  verandahs,  and  unfurnished  and  very  small  rooms.”  Such 
is  a Zenana  and  its  surroundings  ! The  approach  to  the  house 
is  often  so  intricate,  rough  or  narrow,  that  one  must  go  on  foot, 
a perilous  proceeding  under  the  rays  of  a tropical  sun.  Once 
inside  the  Zenana,  you  are  struck  by  the  entire  absence  of  all 


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that  constitutes  the  complement  of  a room,  furniture,  tables, 
and  chairs  are  not  thought  of,  except  when  brought  in  for  the 
time  being,  from  the  Babu’s  apartment,  for  the  missionary’s 
use.  The  lessons  are  given  in  the  open  verandah,  and  while  one 
or  two  women  are  learning,  the  remainder  of  the  occupants  seat 
themselves  on  the  ground,  to  stare  and  make  remarks  on  the 
“foreign  lady.”  You  can  at  once  discover,  by  the  wonderful 
improvement  in  their  manner,  which  of  the  native  women  have 
been  under  instruction  for  any  length  of  time. 

“ A native  house  has  two  divisions;  the  outer  and  inner 
apartments.  To  the  inner  apartments  or  the  Zenana,  are  con- 
signed the  mothers,  wives,  daughters,  and  sisters  of  a Bengali 
household.  There  are  as  few  windows  as  possible;  great  care 
is  taken  that  they  do  not  open  on  a public  street,  or  on  a neigh- 
bor’s house;  and  if  they  do,  they  are  so  small  and  high  up,  as 
to  preclude  the  possibility  of  looking  out,  or  any  one  looking  in. 
They  are  intended  to  keep  out  the  sunshine  and  the  wind  of 
heaven  as  much  as  possible.” 

Could  words  more  vividly  suggest  the  wide  difference  be- 
tween true  and  false  religion  ? In  heathen  houses  how  dark 
and  repulsive,  in  Christian  households  how  bright  and  attractive 
is  “ the  Mother’s  Room,”  that  inner  shrine  of  home,  “the  place 
for  women.”  God  who  commanded  the  light  to  shine  out  of 
darkness,  hath  shined  in  our  hearts  (yes  and  in  our  homes),  to 
give  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God,  in  the  face 
of  Jesus  Christ. 


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Over  thirty  years  ago  the  Zenanas  of  India,  became  an 
absorbing  interest  to  the  Woman’s  Union  Missionary  Society, 
who  sent  out,  for  this  distinctive  work,  the  first  American  women 
as  missionaries  to  this  new  department  of  labor.  During  this 
time  it  has  been  our  privilege  to  see  wondrous  changes  in  the 
lives  of  these  secluded  women,  we  trust  in  all  humility,  partly 
due  to  the  efforts  of  our  consecrated  missionaries. 

Formerly  where  it  was  the  exception  for  a woman  in  India 
to  read  or  write,  now  fifteen  per  cent,  are  reported  by  the  British 
government,  as  under  tuition,  and  the  first  requisite  when  a 
marriage  is  contemplated  is  an  elemental  education. 

Next,  child  marriage  one  of  the  deplorable  customs  of 
India,  has  occupied  the  attention  of  missionaries,  resulting  in  a 
bill  passed  by  the  Government,  called  the  “Age  of  Consent,” 
where  the  age  of  little  brides  required  by  law  has  been  advanced 
to  at  least  twelve  years. 

Six  mission  stations  in  India  are  supported  by  the  Woman’s 
Union  Missionary  Society,  where  5,409  Zenana  women  and 
girls  were  under  instruction  the  past  year. 

While  a good  work  has  been  done  it  still  remains  true,  that 
millions  of  Zenana  women  have  never  heard  the  name  of  Christ. 

Surely  you  who  read  this  account  would  like  to  have  a share 
in  this  Zenana  work  acknowledged  as  one  of  the  great  reform 
movements  of  the  day. 


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Donations  in  aid  of  this  undenominational  mission,  con- 
ducted by  unsalaried  officers,  may  be  sent  to  the  Woman’s 
Union  Missionary  Society,  67  Bible  House,  New  York  City. 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  WOMAN’S  UNION  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY, 

Mrs.  HENRY  JOHNSON,  President. 

Miss  S.  D.  DOREMUS,  Corresponding  Secretary. 

Miss  ELIZABETH  STONE,  Assistant  Treasurer. 

The  Missionary  Link  contains  recent  intelligence  on 
Zenana  work.  Terms  50  cents  annually. 


